Many of us believe wholeheartedly in guardian angels, some aren’t sure if they have one, and others may scoff at the idea.

The bible has 273 references to angels and many stories about how they intercede in life. According to one survey, 77 percent of people of various faiths believe in angels. Most of those surveyed said they believe they have at least one personal guardian angel watching over them.

I believe I must have a guardian angel that has gotten me through many tough times. But to be truthful, I seldom, if ever, think about my guardian angel.

My friend Jeanne, on the other hand, says ever since childhood she has had a close relationship with her guardian angel.

“His name is Jacob and he definitely is there to protect me in big ways and in small ways,” she says.

When I asked Jeanne how she knows the name of her guardian angel, she said, “I asked him. When I did, I heard the name Jacob in my mind.”

When we’re pressed for time and she manages to drive from our town to the next without having to stop for a red light, she says, “Thank you Jacob.”

We live in a beach town that unfortunately is getting more and more populated. If you try to park at the beach past 10 a.m., you won’t get a parking place. Not parking place means no beach time.

Every time Jeanne is driving to the beach, I tell her we probably won’t be able to park and will have make alternate plans. She says if she is meant to be there Jacob will save a space for her.

Here’s the crazy thing - against all odds she always gets a prime parking place. And it’s always the spot next to the walkway, making it easy to trek over the sand.

During the Fourth of July weekend the beach was packed. I thought they would need sky hooks to squeeze in another car.

Jeanne ignored me when I said we would have to go to the park because we would never get near the beach.

With absolute confidence she drove to the prime spot she favors. There it was, waiting for her.

I do not believe there is an angel with nothing to do but save her a parking place. But I cannot account for the probability of having that happen time after time.

Then there’s the story about how Jacob watches over her purse, even when she does dumb things.

During a trip to Thailand at the end of a long shopping day, she gathered all her bags but didn’t know she left her purse behind in the tuk tuk. There was $800, credit cards and her passport in the wallet. She didn’t even realize it was gone until the next day when the woman at the front desk handed her all her money, credit cards and passport.

The tuk tuk driver had tracked her down to return it. Not a cent was missing.

Back in our town, on two different occasions, Jeanne left her purse in a grocery cart and went home without knowing what she did. Both times, when she went back to the grocery store the next day, there was her purse still in the grocery cart where she left it. Both times nothing was missing.

On at other hand, I once had my purse in my grocery cart and turned my head for a few seconds to reach for orange juice. A guy grabbed the purse and ran out of the store. I definitely don’t have a guardian angel working for me.

Well, maybe that’s not true, The other day I was about to pull into another lane when I was just another coat of paint away from getting clipped by car in my blind spot. Jeanne is rubbing off on me because I did remember to thank my guardian angel.

Other times, angels do something more dramatic deeds than saving parking places and purses.

Joan is a Philadelphia schoolteacher who said she never believed she had a guardian angel and never thought about angels at all.

When she was driving home during a heavy snow storm she got off the freeway and opted for a country route to get away from busy traffic.

The snow kept piling up and it was hard to see. A sudden patch of ice caused her to crashed her car through the wooden barrier at the side of the road. The car tumbled down an embankment and became buried in snow. She was wedged into the front seat without her cellphone and couldn’t move.

She was sorry then that the rural road had little traffic. She didn’t think anyone would see her car half buried in snow. As she grew stiff with cold, she had little hope of being rescued.

She remembers passing out then being awakened when a woman came into her car and lifted her up. At the hospital after she told her story to the police, they wanted to know how a woman could get her out of the ravine. There were no car tracks and the snow wasn’t packed down from footsteps.

“I had no answers then and I still don’t,” said Joan, “but I now believe in angels.”

What about you? Do you believe in angels?

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.